Allure of the Constitution Party

Day 3,773, 14:19 • Published in USA Germany • by Korosh.

Hello,

You may have noticed a recent uptrend in the Constitution Party's membership numbers. In this article I try to share some interesting statistics, as well as short interviews with a few Constitutionalists.

This image shows the number of members in the Constitution Party with respect to time.



From under 90 members at New Year's to this today:



The Constitution Party's members also include every single one of the top 5 US citizens by Experience Points.


In order to understand the appeal of the Constitution Party better, and to try to convey it better to the public, I conducted a little interview with Gnilraps, the Founder and first Party President of the Constitution Party, towards this end.

Imagine a scenario where there are 3 different players we are speaking to, and each player has different questions for Gnilraps with respect to how they play the game. These players are called Player A, B, and C.

Player A. They joined eRepublik yesterday. Their last login date was today, but we don’t know if they will login again.

Player A has a question for you: “I don’t know much about the game, I don’t know about the politics of our country. I’m looking to join a political party, as an eCareer in politics sounds enticing to me. I’ve looked at SFP, their populist ideas seem solid and they seem to have a very active community. I’ve also looked at the Federalists, the party that probably has the biggest potential for making me a big player in the country. If I want to one day become a politician in this game, why should I join the Constitution Party instead? “

Gnilraps: Dear Player A
I'm really happy you've found eRepublik. I found it almost 10 years ago and haven't missed a day since.

I can't tell you why to join my party "instead", because I don't really find any major problem with the other two parties you're considering. But I can tell you what distinguishes TCP. So I will.

TCP is a revitalization party. The party it grew out of was the most significant Party in eUSA history. But an extended period of leadership without vision led to attrition and decline.

A few months ago the active remnant of the former party agreed to adopt a brand new vision, and TCP was born. The result has been the revitalization of the entire eUSA. Since it's inception, the political engagement of eUSA has sharply increased.

Someone serious about politics in eUSA should easily be able to recognize that the energy and momentum is in TCP.

I invite you to join us.

Player B. They have been 2 clicking for a year or two, they have a healthy number of companies they run daily, are a member of one of the non-top 2 parties. The only political activity they have is occasionally voting in elections, after reading the instructions either in their party feed, or for a familiar name. They are probably either part of Easy Company or War Inc.

Player B also has a question for you: “I have been in 2 click mode for about 18 months. I currently have 2,000 gold in my account, about 200 companies, and I receive bonuses every week from my MU. Why should I leave my life of wealth and plenty, with minimal work/stress, and become more politically active? What is in it for me? Assuming I already have a slight interest in politics, but never got around to being more active because of the work it entailed”

Gnilraps: Dear Player B,

I feel your pain.

I also invested in the economy of this game hoping it would prove worthwhile. In a very small way it is. But like you, the return on my economic investment was not enough to keep me engaged.

I converted my economic assets into community-building and the game changed for me entirely. I'll never ask anyone else to do that. But I mention it because it's germain.

I don't know what has kept you from deeper political involvement. Maybe you don't view yourself as a good writer. Maybe you don't know what the stakes are, politically, in eUSA. Maybe something else. But for some reason you find yourself on the fringe of involvement.

I hope to draw you into the secret beauty of eRepublik.

There is nothing that should limit your engagement with this community. If you want to play an online game, and you don't give a crap about graphics, you are already invested in the best game there is.

Dive in.

It doesn't matter too much which Party you choose. I'd love to have you in my Party, and I'd love to work with you personally. But if you're already invested and familiar with eUSA, you're on the cusp of political success.

Whatever has been the barrier to deeper political engagement in the past, let's talk. It is my philosophy that you have more to offer than you think.

Let's play eRep together.

Player C. This is a player that has been an active member of the forums since at least 2010. They have been in the country’s government multiple times and have even been country president once. They usually contribute in issues they are experienced in and have authority over but remain silent over matters they deem uninteresting. But whenever they do speak, people listen. They are a member of the Federalist Party. Their political activity has been on a downtrend ever since their term as country president.

Is it possible to convince player C to change parties? What would your argument be? Would the Constitution Party be a good destination for them, if so, why?

Gnilraps: Dear Player C,

It is difficult to write an invitation to such a player as yourself. First off, I can't think of any good reason to leave the Federalist Party. I don't know if it's still buzzing over there like it was in my days as a Fed, but I do know that things are starting to buzz like that in TCP, so at least keep that in mind. You still have a lot to offer and our vision over here is to be THE leadership party in eUSA. The pillars of our platform are game-driven and sensible. Secondly, anyone who has been CP and with her/his party for as long as you has an incredibly difficult time even considering a switch. And if your activity has waned at all, there is even less impetus. So I probably wouldn't even be writing this to you if I hadn't been so politely asked to do so by Korosh I.

But here I am. So here it goes.

I was a Fed too. And at the time I left, I did so for the only possible reason I could imagine you ever leaving: I wanted to spark my game. Honestly it's for that exact reason that we began the reboot of USWP... a spark. You've already proven to yourself that logging out forever is not your first choice - maybe not a choice at all. So you're here. There's nothing stopping you from returning to prominence. I can testify that even at my age (coming up on 9 years) there's room for fun and enjoyment. So take a chance. Leave your familiar grounds at the Federalist Party. They are too proud/horny not to accept you back at any point in the future, you know that. But give your game the spark it needs to make something interesting happen.

Become a Constitutionalist!
I then went on to interview another figurehead of the party, dmjohnston, and tried to understand his role in the party better.

1. What is your job description?
dmjohnston: I'm currently the Vice President of The Constitution Party

2. Toughest part of your job?
dmjohnston: Toughest part? Trying not to be SO awesome that I make Gnilraps look less awesome than me.

3. Most entertaining month in Congress you’ve ever had?
dmjohnston: The month that Aramec was CP was pretty ridiculous. At one point he appointed the entirety of Congress of SCI.

4. Describe the Constitution party in 3 words.
dmjohnston: Access, Stewardship, Sovereignty. That's right, TCP's got ASS for days

5. If someone is interested in becoming SoH, what advice would you offer them?
dmjohnston: READ THE CONSTITUTION AND CODE. Be a Deputy Speaker for a month or two. Learn the ropes. Being Speaker is more than moderating posts. You have to be able to make decisions about interpretation of laws. Be prepared to make a decision and back it up with your reasoning.
Become a Constitutionalist.



Spokesman of TCP,
Korosh